LARRY G. COLLINS (D)

I, Larry G. Collins, am seeking the position of Brown County sheriff after spending my entire lifetime living in Brown County and listening to the concerns of my fellow Brown County neighbors and friends.

In my bid for sheriff, I spend my time knocking on doors and obtaining firsthand knowledge of the needs and concerns of many Brown County residents.

I believe each individual person should be treated with respect and take to heart the issues that are important to them.

If I am elected, you can be sure you will see me throughout the county in an effort to stay in touch with the people. I want to build confidence between the sheriff’s department and the good people of Brown County by earning their trust and establishing a fair and honest reputation. I feel that we need each other to get the job done the right way.

Forty years of my life I have volunteered to help the people of Brown County.

I have over 20 years of experience as a special reserve and deputy. I have worked as a full-time animal control officer for nine years. I have also worked as a dispatcher, jailer and road officer. For over 20 years, I have been active in providing security for the Bill Monroe festival.

I am a graduate of the Sheriff’s Law Enforcement School and, in addition, have received training on surveillance cameras and have been schooled for conducting internal investigations and loss prevention.

My wife Linda and I have been married since shortly after high school and have two children and four beautiful granddaughters. I am a deacon and member of the Spearsville Church of Christ.

I enjoy hunting, horseshoe pitching, fishing and gardening, and share those interests with my children and grandchildren.

I love Brown County and am anxious to serve my friends, neighbors, and all the people to make a better county, now and in the future. I will make sure my door is always open. I honestly care, and plan to try and cut costs when possible without jeopardizing safety or performance.

I believe in accountability and will put my reputation on the line with dedication and just simply doing things the right way.

I intend to stay the person I am and obtain the faith of Brown County residents. I am someone you can count on, be sure about, and will proudly serve my fellow Brown Countians.

You have my word, and I don’t take my word lightly.

I ask for your vote for a greater Brown County.

— Written by Larry G. Collins

RICK FOLLOWELL (D)

“I’ve wanted to be a policeman since I was old enough to know what one was,” admits Brown County Sheriff’s Deputy Rick Followell. Becoming sheriff, he said, is the next logical step in his career.

Followell is a 1982 Brown County High School graduate and is married to Kay, a 12-year sheriff’s dispatch supervisor. They have three children, Honna, Noah and Joshua, and two grandchildren, Josiah and Nathaniel.

Followell graduated from the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy in 1995 and has been a Brown County deputy ever since.

“I am a hard-working, no-fuss no-muss, deputy who will lead by example,” he said. “A good sheriff is a great motivator.”

“The sheriff of Brown County needs to be a policeman as well as a leader who is ready to handle any situation. With only 13 officers, including the sheriff, Brown County must have a working sheriff if we want to control crime in our county.” The county, he said, has competent deputies with sufficient skills to do the job.

As sheriff, Followell said that he will enact policies to help motivate his deputies to enforce law on our roads, such as assigning deputies to patrol specific roads each shift, checking businesses and enforcing traffic laws, as well as answering dispatched calls.

Followell started his career as a Brown County Community Corrections officer supervising house arrest, work release and road crew inmates. During this time he was a reserve officer for the Nashville town police and, later, a sheriff’s reserve officer. Followell knows the value of keeping the force transparent and well-trained. “After all,” he said, “it’s the county people’s department.”

He’d like to see continued training for jailers, dispatchers and officers, and have those departments train together with firefighters and ambulance staff.

“Each employee has a job to do while on accident scenes, domestic situations and other calls that multiple agencies respond to,” he explained. “Sometimes while getting the job done, we step on each other’s toes.” He believes the more they could train together, the more efficient his department would be.

All employees, he said, need to be trained further in emergency medicine. Followell would like to implement a ride-along program for new dispatchers with deputies, to better understand what responders need to be more efficient.

Followell believes in random drug testing, inspections of issued equipment, and job evaluations for sheriff’s department employees. He believes the jail should house more Department of Corrections inmates to offset the cost of the jail.

He believes enforcing law on small crimes prevents people from committing larger ones. “I want our department be proactive rather than reactive,” he said. “If every deputy is in uniform and in marked cars criminals will think twice before committing crime. A criminal who makes meth or grows pot in his house has to move it to make money. Officer presence deters crime.”

The ultimate goal of a sheriff, he said, is to make better employees, who will better protect the people they serve.

— Written by Sara Clifford, with the assistance of Rick Followell

DEBRA GUFFEY (D)

A lifelong Brown County resident, I, Debbie Guffey, have recently announced my intention to run for the Democratic nomination for Brown County sheriff.

My husband of 33 years, Ray, and I have been successful business owners for the past 18 years. I have 16 years of law enforcement experience as a reserve deputy sheriff. In 2006, I was chosen county reserve deputy of the year.

In addition, I have extensive experience in budgeting and business administration. In recent years, the office of Brown County Sheriff has become more of an administrative position in county government, and I believe I can find ways to spend the department’s limited funds more appropriately and effectively if elected.

Among other goals, if elected, is to provide the citizens of Brown County maximum protection against crime. I am also committed to providing honest leadership with no favoritism. I intend to see to it that all deputies and sheriff’s office staff do their jobs to the best of their abilities and conduct themselves in a professional manner.

I believe that all women wear many hats, and I know that my experience in law enforcement, as well as my experience as a business owner, show that I can fill a sheriff’s hat.

My husband and I are the parents of two grown children and have three grandchildren and live in Hamblen Township.

— Written by Debbie Guffey

RICK WHITE (D)

A Brown County native, I retired from the United States Army in 2001 after serving for 29 years. My first five years of service was as a military policeman and a combat engineer, attaining the rank of staff sergeant until attending Officer Candidate School and being commissioned as a second lieutenant. Twenty-four years later, I retired as a lieutenant colonel. My career included overseas assignments in Germany, the former Soviet Union, Thailand, Korea, Southwest Asia and Panama and numerous stateside assignments that included the 101st and 82nd Airborne Divisions and the XVIIIth Airborne Corps, and culminated with assignment to the Army Staff and the Joint Chiefs of Staff, The Pentagon.

Upon retiring and returning to Brown County in April 2001, I accepted a position with the sheriff’s department as a jailer and, after three months, assumed command of the jail division. I instituted an inmate disciplinary and standards handbook (none previously existed), became one of the first jail commanders to attend the Jail Commander’s Course, and mandated the same for all jail division staff. After a change in administration, I left the department in April 2003 and accepted the position of manager for the Cordry Sweetwater Conservancy District until 2005 when that position was eliminated. Since 2005, I have enjoyed my retirement but have remained active in the community.

My wife Donna and I have been married for almost 38 years and reside at Stone Head in Van Buren Township. Our home is on land that was part of my Grandpa Dick White’s farm.

Giving back to my community is an integral part of who I am. I am an active member of the Brown County VFW Post 6195 and American Legion Post 13, a charter member and former treasurer of the Brown County Veterans Coalition, and currently the commander of the Brown County Veterans Honor Guard, providing military funeral rites for our veterans.

I am a past board member and president of the Brown County Board of Zoning Appeals, president of the Brown County Water Utility Board of Directors and currently serving as president of the Van Buren Township Advisory Board.

I am a proud member of the oldest fraternal organization in Brown County — chartered in 1852 — the Nashville Masonic Lodge. A member for over 33 years, I served the lodge as its Worshipful Master in 2004 and currently serve as secretary.

I am a strong advocate of making the best use of our facilities and resources by safely housing as many state Department of Corrections minimum security inmates as possible. The county’s cost to house these inmates is minimal when compared to the amount of revenue it can generate for the county.

Immediately upon assuming the office of sheriff, I will mandate 100 percent urinalysis testing for all employees and random testing thereafter, with immediate termination for anyone failing the screenings. I think it is time we raise the bar for standards and level of professionalism of our sheriff’s department.

If you compare my qualifications with those of any candidate, Republican or Democrat, you will see that not only is my leadership experience unparalleled, but no other candidate is as involved in the community as I am.

I am the best candidate to be the next sheriff of Brown County.

— Written by Rick White

CHARLES "CHUCK" DILL (R)

After 27 years with the Brown County Sheriff’s Department, Charles “Chuck” Dill feels he still has more to give.

Having been retired for five years, he’s seeking the office of Brown County Sheriff.

Dill, a 1968 Brown County High School graduate, has lived in Brown County most of his life, from the fifth grade on. He and his wife Teresa have four children and two grandchildren.

His first job as a police officer was on the Nashville town force in 1970-71. Then he went to Morgantown to serve as town marshal for about three years, and then served the Edinburgh Police dept for three years. He made sergeant after his first year on the Edinburgh force. After attending Indiana Central College in Edinburgh, he returned to Brown County as a sheriff’s deputy.

“I was a road officer starting out,” he said. “Years down the road I was promoted to sergeant and some administrative duties. Then I was promoted to captain when ‘Buck’ Stogsdill came into office. I’d been on administrative duties for 12 years and road commander when Dave Anderson came in as sheriff.

“…Buck’s a good friend of mine, and I feel like he’s done a good job, and I want to excel.”

Dill has a few changes in mind.

“We need to focus on more training for the officers, dispatchers, jailers, all of them,” he said.

He understands that keeping up with technology is important for the entire department, especially for communication between dispatch and officers.

“Then you’ve got the jailers,” he said. “They book them in, book them out, transport them, and there’s constant change in the way that jailers do their jobs.”

One of his goals is to get sheriff’s department staff to the most advanced level of training possible.

He’s also listening to the voters he’s been visiting, asking what they’d like to see done to advance the sheriff’s department.

“The main thing, I’d like to be the sheriff and I hope I win to see what I can do for the county I live in and protect the people and the visitors and make some good changes.

“… The only thing I’m going to promise is, I’m going to do the best job I can. And to do that, I’m going to have to have the community’s help. Once I get in office, I’ll still have to have their help … because they may see something I don’t clearly see, and bring it to my attention.”

— Written by Sara Clifford, with the assistance of Charles “Chuck” Dill

TOM JARVIS (R)

Tom Jarvis is coming out of retirement from the Indiana State Police to seek the office of Brown County sheriff.

Jarvis, a Brown County resident for more than 20 years, spent 28 years with the Indiana State Police, He worked with the Bloomington post and on various task forces, including investigative units involving drug smuggling, auto theft and special investigations.

He also worked as a road trooper.

With his experience, he says he'll have many contacts with other agencies when assistance is needed.

One of his goals, if elected, is to be more proactive in law enforcement rather than reactive -- "for instance, targeting areas where there have been a lot of traffic accidents, or areas where there has been a lot of criminal activity and adjusting our patrols and our visibility, rather than being reactive and just waiting until it happens and going to do the investigation."

He also aims to be accessible to the public and have a transparent department that makes good use of available funds.

"The first thing I want to do, if elected, is, I have a real passion for people really struggling economically, and because of that I would not take a county vehicle or use any county gas. ... That's because a lot of people have to struggle to go to work for a minimum wage-paying job."

Since retiring in 2002, Jarvis has worked for the Brown County Solid Waste Management District as an enforcement officer and with the Indiana State Police Alliance.

The rest of the time, he's been around the lake area, being active in Church of the Lakes and its youth group and helping his neighbors.

Jarvis has one son who lives in Texas, and two grandsons. He and his wife Amy have always lived in the Cordry Sweetwater area.

"I have the most law enforcement experience of any candidates running, and I'm coming out of retirement with no other motive than using my passion for justice to make sure the people of Brown County and the visitors of Brown County get the best protection they can get for the lowest cost."

-- Written by Sara Clifford, with the assistance of Tom Jarvis

TONY SCISCOE (R)

My name is Tony Sciscoe and I am a Republican candidate for sheriff of Brown County.

I would like to tell you a bit about myself.

I live in the northern part fo the county with my wife Bobbi. I have 21 years' experience in corrections and law enforcement and am a combat veteran of the Iraq war. I have several years of supervisory experience including my current position as jail commander. I have worked with the Indiana Department of Corrections on housing state inmates. Since Feb. 4, 2009, the jail has brought in over $159,000 that went into the county general fund.

My vision for the office of ther sheriff is to have fair and equal law enforcement for all citizens and visitors of Brown County. I plan to maximize our current resources and minimize our expenditures without jeopardizing public safety.

You can visit me on Facebook under Tony Sciscoe.

"We all win with a vote for Sciscoe."

-- Written by Tony Sciscoe

SCOTT SOUTHERLAND (R)

Veteran politicians tell him he’s spending too much time knocking on doors; that he’s moving too slow. But Det. Scott Southerland is just trying to give people time.

“If the people want to talk, then I’m listening,” he said.

“Really I was apprehensive about doing it,” said the Republican candidate for sheriff, about approaching Brown Countians at home. “I always feel like I’m imposing on people. … Whatever they’re doing, it didn’t include me; I wasn’t in their plans that day. But I’m finding that almost unanimously, they’re acting like they’re glad to see me, to listen to me and for me to listen to them.”

Southerland has been getting to know his Brown County neighbors since he started working at the Cordry-Sweetwater Conservancy District in 1988.

He and his wife Teresa have been married for nearly 25 years, and have two children in Brown County schools.

Southerland’s career in law enforcement began in 1986 when Rex Kritzer was sheriff. He attended the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy in 1989 with 128 other recruits, and graduated ninth in the class.

Since Sheriff Dave Anderson’s tenure, Southerland has been a detective sergeant with the Brown County Sheriff’s Department — a post he’s maintained through every administration since Anderson’s, Republican and Democrat.

“Each of them, I think, have found that if something bad happens, when it’s serious, that I can be their go-to guy,” Southerland said.

He has been assigned to a multi-agency task force for many years, and has served as lead investigator on major cases that were successfully prosecuted in state and federal courts.

In 1998, Southerland earned a commendation from the International Narcotic Enforcement Officers Association in recognition of outstanding accomplishment in the field of narcotic law enforcement.

He has written grants that were awarded to the Brown County Sheriff’s Department, and intends to continue seeking those funding sources to keep current on technology.

His position also has allowed him to receive training and experience he wouldn’t have been exposed to as a uniformed deputy.

“People have a problem, and they call us,” he said about the sheriff’s department, “and to us, it may seem like, it’s a thing we deal with every day, and it may be routine to us. But … it’s the most important thing in the world to them right then. And they expect and deserve our best efforts.”

— Written by Sara Clifford with the assistance of Det. Scott Southerland

BRAD STOGSDILL (R)

Lt. Brad Stogsdill could have left Brown County for more pay, but chose to stay here at home, where he’s lived since he was 5 years old.

Stogsdill moved in 1973 from Unionville to Brown County when his father, Sheriff Robert “Buck” Stogsdill, became a conservation officer for the county. Lt. Stogsdill attended Brown County schools through the 12th grade, then went to Vincennes University to study law enforcement. He was hired as a Brown County Jail officer and reserve officer in March 1989, then was hired as a full-time deputy in 1992 and graduated from the law enforcement academy in June 1993.

He worked his way up the ranks to lieutenant, where he now serves as road commander overseeing six deputies and two sergeants and the entire reserve division.

“Working here in the county has always been rewarding to me. Knowing I could have left for more money, I chose to stay here, knowing someday I would run for sheriff.”

For the second term of his father’s tenure, Lt. Stogsdill has been getting more and more involved with the workings of the administration, including training and equipment for deputies, learning about legislative issues and making contacts with other police agencies.

He said that, if elected, he plans to be a working sheriff who will take calls and be open and available to the public.

“First and foremost, I’m a police officer,” Lt. Stogsdill said, “and that’s what I want to do. I want to be the sheriff, but I will also respond to calls if need be and/or help people out when I see them.”

“As sheriff, I will drive a marked unit and be seen in public,” he added, saying that driving a marked unit and being in uniform is important because of visibility to deter crime and help at emergency calls.

As for the programs in place at the jail, he aims to continue the GED, ministry and Start (drug and alcohol addiction support group) programs, and seeking grants and DOC money to aid with the general fund.

“I believe the sheriff’s department has been, in the past eight years or so, moving forward and going in the right direction, and I want to continue that,” Stogsdill said. “I don’t want us to regress.

“I do care a lot about the people who work there. We have many good employees, and I want to provide a good workplace and want them to feel proud of the job they do.”

Stogsdill, in addition to his parents, Glenda and Robert “Buck” in Brown County, has two brothers in the county, one of whom works as a deputy sheriff, and a 15-year-old daughter, Kailyn, who lives in Lebanon.

In his spare time, he enjoys being outdoors, hunting and fishing, and being with family.

“The bottom line, I promise to work hard and provide fair and equal law enforcement to the community,” he said.